Rangers-Bruins in review

John Tortorella referenced the Hockey Gods the one night this week, when Marian Gaborik was incorrectly called for a double-minor penalty when one opponent’s stick. and not Gaborik’s, hit the face of another opponent. And the Rangers, rightly, killed the penalties.

Tortorella said the Hockey Gods have a way of taking care of things like that.

So yesterday in Boston, a cretin named Andrew Ference nearly maimed Ryan McDonagh in overtime, and the Hockey Gods took care of the Rangers again. The Hockey Gods let the Rangers — who scored one power-play goal since Dec. 23 of 2011 (in 27 chances over 12 games) — score an overtime PPG with 3.6 seconds left to beat the Stanley Cup champions.

What a crying shame that a game like that, played the way hockey should be played, by teams that play the game aggressively and courageously, has to be remembered for a cowardly play by the worst player in the game.

Thoughts:

1) We’re going to see what kind of onions Brendan Shanahan has now. The other day he handed out one of his signature $2,500 fines for a boarding penalty, which isn’t going to deter anything. Ference is a repeat offender, and this was a textbook hit from behind, opponent in a vulnerable position, an excessive force cheap-shot; one in which the offending idiot had more than enough time to determine whether he should hold up or go for the injury. This is one that’s going to be held up as the standard for such dangerous hits — which the NHL has claimed it is trying to remove from the game, but has shown no teeth in its attempt to do so. And whether McDonagh’s injury turns out to be minor or major should have no bearing on the suspension. But usually the NHL tries to jump through hoops to try to find a reason to go soft and not levy a long suspension. Why?

2) Great game, though. You could see at the start how tough the Bruins can be, how difficult they can make it for you if you’re not ready to rumble. That’s a team with a bit more skill and size than the Rangers. But you know what? The Eastern-leading Rangers don’t back down. They don’t take backward steps. They just don’t. You could say that the Bruins controlled play early (they sure did) and throughout times during the game. But the Rangers play that way sometimes. They go through stretches where they don’t have the puck much, but they still defend and block shots and give up very little. And, yes, they rely on their goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, to be as good as he was.

3) Remember what I said a while back about how we should abandon the stat-keeping if it’s going to be this wildly inconsistent? The Rangers outhit the Bruins, officially, 27-12. I don’t doubt that the Rangers out-hit the B’s. They did. But to say there were only 39 hits in that game? Hello? There were that many in the first period.

4) As bad as the Rangers PP is, that’s as good as their PK is. It is sensational.

5) I want to apologize for getting a little snippy during the game conversation yesterday. I don’t suffer conspiracy theories very well. If you want to argue bad officiating, I have no problem with that. But to suggest that the Rangers get the short end as part of some plan by the league and its officials, that’s just Aristophenes. I didn’t have a problem with any of the penalties that were called, but you could sure question some of the ones that weren’t called. And the diving call on Brandon Prust? He probably had to change into some dry clothing after that.

6) The Rangers might need to put some body armor on the guys who are going to be in the lanes of Zdeno Chara’s shots in the next three meetings. My God. Actually, the contrast is amazing. The B’s are a team that loves to fire the puck, and the Rangers are a team that flings bodies in front of shots and the result is a lot of ice packs and, hopefully not, X-rays. The Rangers were credited with 22 blocks, seven by McMonster. Dan Girardi played a career high 33:31 and McDonagh 32:04 before he was knocked out.

7) We talk about Marian Gaborik’s speed, and we should. But how about his hands? The other night vs. Pittsburgh he made that remarkable pass to Carl Hagelin (who was very strong against the B’s). Yesterday Gaborik drop-kicked a deflected puck that bounced, and hit the ice and Gaborik’s stick simultaneously as Gaborik scored the first goal. Then the OT winner was a back-handed roof job. Wow.

8) Pretty good plays by Prust on Ryan Callahan’s goal out of the penalty box. Prust swatted the puck away from an attacking Bruin as the power play was ending, then busted it up ice to join the play. And even though he never got the puck back, his busting it gave Callahan the space to get off his scoring shot. Callahan doesn’t get that room if Prust goes to the bench or glides.

9) Wonder if Brandon Dubinsky was hurting, or if he got some pine time (again) for a lackadaisical backcheck on the second Bruins goal, which was reminiscent of a goal the Penguins scored Thursday at MSG.

10) According to a source, Gary Bettman is arranging for the Empire State Building to be blue on one side for the Giants tonight, red and gold on another side, to honor the San Francisco 49ers, and Philadelphia Orange crud on the other two sides to honor Ed Snider, Comcast and the Broad Street Bullies. With the full approval of the NHL.

11) I thought Brad Richards played better in this game than he had lately. He did miss a pass and a shot during the major PP in OT, clearing the zone for the Bruins twice. But he made a really good play to start the flurry that ended up in the game-winner, and he nearly scored it himself, only to be robbed by Tukka Rask. Give the guy this: He’s been huge at big moments this season.

12) Which Ranger had the most ice packs after this game? Prust? Brian Boyle? McDonagh (not including the cheap shot injuries)? Girardi? Callahan?

13) That’s four of five for the Rangers against the Bruins the last two seasons. With three more on the 2011-12 schedule. And maybe a best-of-seven in the springtime.

14) It really would have been awful if this game had been decided by one of those breakaway contests they sometimes hold after the hockey game ends, especially with the battle level at which it was played, you know, during the hockey game. And it nearly did go to one of those silly contests.

15) It’s funny how things work sometimes. Richards, Gaborik and Callahan came off the ice after a fruitless PP shift late in OT. They would not have been back on before the end of OT if Michael Del Zotto had been able to keep a bouncing puck in at the blue line. Del Zotto couldn’t, put himself offside, and Tortorella had a chance to put Richards, Gaborik and Callahan back out there.

219 Comments

Carp, Awesome post.
To correct you on one factoid, though, one side will actually be Navy blue to honor the patriots. No love for the Ravens.

Agreed on the calls. Prust dove, the half-speed shows it clearly, and it wasn’t that any of the calls against the Rangers were bad. Its just that all of the bean-town interference, holding, tripping, and knocking Gaborik over 15 seconds after the plays were NOT called. Hard to understand, maybe there’s a home crowd issue there.

Good analysis, Carp. Great win marred by the dangerous boearding of McDonough by whom?. Personally , I think any player initiating a headshot or dangerous boarding like the Ference hit should be suspended a minimum mandatory number of games AND at least as long as the injured player is unable to play. This might solve the rampant injury problem, and the players would not even think about such dangerous hits, they would avoid them.

a bit more… and this pisses some hockey people off but Ill say it anyway ‘cuz Im a long time ranger/hockey fan and I don’t care what the occasional fan thinks.

We often forget that a lot of these guys are just kids. 20,21, 22 years old. They’ve worked their whole lives to get here. We can’t have them being finished or taken out for extended periods of time. Look at crosby… love him/ hate him. The kid can play hockey and should be playing in this league right now..

I believe, and anyone who has played contact sports will know what I mean, there is a split second when a hitter can make the decision to go in heavy, “give it that little extra” and take a guys head off… or go in heavy enough or even, dare i say it, ” lay off slightly” and just take the guy out of the play… these guys are pro’s.. they know the difference…. … So even if the hit would have been clean.. did you really need to destroy the guy and put him out with a concussion indefinitely ( see DP toronto). . You can call that if you want… but if the guys don’t start policing themselves like this soon… its going to be rammed down their throats anyway by outsiders.. Same for fighting. Everyone loves a good fight in this sport but if they don’t cut out the unnecessary tilts… we’re going to lose them altogether.. Im talking about the ZK stuff… prearranged dropping of the gloves off the face off etc. It’s not going to be hockey people that bring about the end of this stuff.. It’s going to be outside politically correct non hockey voices and the medical community screaming that the NHL is sacrificing these young athlete’s health and well being unnecessarily in the pursuit of ticket sales… see boogard etc. it’s JMHO.. but I love the sport and would like to see us keep it the way it is but correct some of the stuff that is only detrimental to us anyway… before they do it for us. again…. JMHO…. jimmy

I didn’t read one “bush-league”, “amateur-hour”, “Mickey-Mouse”, or “clown” … and those are the only words I can think of when attempting to describe this abhorrent squad of no-talent, raisin-bran Toucan-Sams.

Should be basking in the afterglow of a glorious win. Instead, worried about a young kid who has become a ROCK on the Rangers young D line! What a disgrace Ference is. I don’t want to hear any of his BullClarke excuses. When you have a history of doing this type of stuff, which he does, you lose the ability to “explain” what happened.

I have been a ranger fan since I was 8 years old when my hero was John Ratelle and Billy and Walt killed penalties. I am not sure that I have ever been so emotionally attached to a Ranger team. Yes, I was in MSG on that glorious night when they won the cup in 1994. But many members of that team were Mercenaries who I will always love for that cup, but who I was also not emotionally attached to.

I complained all the time about this organization! Why can’t we develop kids? Why can’t we have a team that will contend for years?

Well, that time is HERE!

ARe there things to be critical about this team? OF COURSE! The PP is a disaster at this point and needs to be fixed. They can be offensively challenged…

*BUT, I ALSO THINK THAT WE ARE WATCHING SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL THIS YEAR. THIS TEAM SEEMS TO HAVE THAT DESTINY FEEL TO IT. THEY HAVE WON SOME AMAZING GAMES . WHEN THE GAMES HAVE BEEN BIG LIKE THE WINTER CLASSIC OR YESTERDAY; THEY SEEM TO COME THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH!*

I think we all should step back a bit and live in the moment. They might not win the cup this year, but man, they are a special bunch and I for one am LOVING every minute of it!!!

Well said, Yev. I feel the same way. This is a great team, one that I enjoy watching and am proud to be a fan of!
Our rangers are tough, fearless and hard working. Every team has flaws and I don’t expect them to be perfect. This is such a likable group of players, for once, we have a TEAM instead of a collection of players to be managed.

Orr, what makes you think this team will be like past playoff teams? Hasn’t this team already done many things in the regular season that has distinguished themselves from past Ranger teams? With all due respect, your post is silly.

Regular season is not the playoffs. Anything can happen. What I’m used to, is the go to guys not showing up when they’re needed. Doesn’t matter how well this team is playing in the *regular season*, once the playoffs start, cause things can change quickly, come playoff time.

It could be another one of those years where Hank plays like a god, but has to suffer because the top players don’t show up.

This team is 30-12-4! Could they crap out in the playoffs? OF COURSE! Anything can happen. We have seen truly great teams lose in the first round. (especially against a HOT goaltender). But my god, if you guys don’t think this team is different than the team in years past and at least have a MUCH BETTER chance to make some noise in the playoffs, then I have NO IDEA what team you have been watching this year.

As CARP has pointed out to me, last year the Bruins won the CUP with a putrid power play…

In CARP’S article today on Cally, he mentions that he is an “exceptional skater”. We talk here all the time about Hags and Gabby and fail to mention Callyand his skating ability. Watch his goal from yesterday’s game! The guy is flying down the wing. He is probably the 3rd best skater on the team. That is why I can’t wait for Chris Kreider. When I saw him play live in the 2010 Beanpot, I just couldn’t believe that a guy that BIG was flying down the ice on skates. He is a freak of nature!

Orr, that was then. This is now. This team has little in common with former versions of itself from 20-30 years ago.

I don’t think this team, sorry, make that TEAM, is looking in the rear view mirror as they progress through this season. Yesterday’s win was just another game that taught this team something about itself. And how great is it that they didn’t put too much emphasis on who they beat but rather on what it took to get the win.

There may be a player or two acquired before the trade deadline six weeks from now, but I think there’s too much evidence that the core of this team is growing in physical and mental abilities to warrant a major move. This team will be ready to play and better than it is now when the playoffs start on Wednesday, April 11th.

Carp…so maybe “running on fumes,” was too strong and maybe “less than a full tank,” might have been better. But clearly they were able to get up for this game. I will eat some humble pie (with a fork!) and happily.

Let’s see what Shanahan does now esp as Ference is a teammate of Colin Campbell’s little boy. But that hit was bush league. And btw, have they ever considered keeping guys out for as long as the player who got hurt is out? I mean Phaneuf’s hit on Sauer was legal and no penalty, so it doesn’t apply. But if McD is out for 5 games, let’s just say, I think Ference should sit for that long. No?

If McD is out for a bit it will be a bummer. But at least we have a few hands waiting to get some ice time. If he is out a bit, on the bright side, we can showcase some of those D-men before the trade deadline if desire to go that way.

Our team is rugged, I like that. But I can still see the need to deal for either a rental on the blueline who has a cannon and can QB the PP or another winger to give us a little more oomph up front.

And btw, the Rangers are really a good 5 on 5 team. They have a great PK. They have to cuz their PP stinks. The B’s PP wasn’t all that good in the playoffs last year and they did alright. Plus, we have Hank, the best in the league right now. We can go far if we stay focused. But we probably need 1 or 2 more pieces to expect a deep run.

Brendan Cantahan is likely gonna do what he’s been doing since the regular season started and hand down a miniscule suspension which is why crap like what happened yesterday keeps happening. I finally agreed with something Idiotiletti yesterday when he declared, as we watched McDonagh lying still on the ice, ‘one of these days one of these guys won’t get up’.

And it’s true and sometimes I find myself wishing it would happen – not for the player but for the league so they (and the NHLPA) can get their collective butts sued to the brink.

New Newman: When did I say the Rangers are going to win the cup? Where did I say anything remotely close to what Dolan said?

All I said was that I thought it was silly to compare this team to Rangers teams of the past. This team sure has out performed any ranger team of recent vintage. They have shown an ability to play with the “big boys”.

Could they go out in the first round? Of course! Any team can in the NHL. The playoffs are a crapshoot.

I know this is a totally different team than the teams of the last few years, there record is obvious proof of that, but I’m going by what I saw last year. Dublowsky, Gabby, Step, Artie, Prospal, etc, all of the important guys did not show up.

Barry – Hags is definitely picking up the slack for boyle’s numbers, also don’t forget Steps increased production, Gabby’s increased production, Richards arrival, MDZ re-emergence and cally was out during this time last season.

Do the Rangers need more production from their top 6, especially PP time, yes. Forget boyle, Feds, prust, and Rupper for offense, any is a bonus.

Artie lack of development and the Dubi disaster season are 2 huge impediments for this team, no doubt, but let’s not harp on the Bottom 6.

Orr, valid points. Yeah, I’d love to see more goals from more guys, but these low scoring, close games forces this team to compete hard for a full 60 which is what the PO’s will demand.

Also, won’t the sting of last years first round exit provide motivation for this year? Won’t the additions of Richards and Rupp with their PO experience and success be huge in the locker room? We may not get all the way to the promised land but we’re getting close enough to dare to dream.

Agreed – when I play, and I’m an ass sometimes when I play – I know exactly what I’m doing and how much to do. And you always know when you are doing something dangerous. Just sometimes it goes worse then you thought it would. But the accident is the severity, not the action.

I really like the idea of taking away the roster spot of the suspended player – perhaps for 25% of the games suspended or something like that.

Barry – if you believe regular offensive stays are directly correlated to team performance, please review the Rangers regular season stats in the 2 years prior to winning the cup in 94. They had 7 players score more than 20 goals, 3 of which had more than 30, 1 had over 40.

So 7 of their top 9 forwards had high offensive production, they had a great capt and leader, Brian leetch and………..that team did not make the playoffs.

Not disputing they need higher offensive production, but one needs to look at the whole picture. Look no further than the Bruins last year. Playoffs are a crap shoot.

But keep in mind that back in 92-93, they also had 2 “#1″ goaltenders with JVBK starting 48 games and Richter starting 38. I think most of us know how well a goalie carousel works in the NHL as far as success goes. If not, then just as a Flyers fan.

Also, the NHL was a much more run and gun, high offensive output league back then. The league leader in goals that season were Mogilny and Selanne at 76.

The last time any player has come close to that total in the last 15 seasons was Ovechkin in 07-08 with 65.

Back then you had teams giving up 300+ goals per season. The team leader for GA that season was the Blackhawks at 230.

Last season there were 15 teams that gave up less than that.

And I would bet Mitt Romney’s $10,000 that if Adam Graves played today he wouldn’t come close to 40 goals in a season let alone 52.

I’m with Orr on this one. Lets be honest folks, they’ve gotten this far due to a great goaltender, great PK and an awesome defense…
————————————————————————
Because great goaltending, PK, and defense doesn’t win Cups.

rangers should have 7 20 goal scorers or guys who have the ability to score 20 goals; cally, gabby, richards, dubi, aa, stepan, and hagelin. that is not too much of a stretch…

those 7 guys should not be plumbers .. they will have 4 or 5 20 goal scorers for the season but should have 7..

cally, gabby, richards, and stepan should score 20 this year…

again the good news is the core is young. if boyle could have put up similar #’s to last year then wow but he is a big strong checker type who cannot find the back of the net. prust you think would be good for 12 or so goals is probably not happening and the way he plays he will be off the team in 2 years since the fighting and ranger style beats the c out of these guys…

the good news is kreider is coming and they have othe rtop end forwards on the way…

Guys like Gaby, Dubi, and Cally have been in the playoffs before and have to step up, lead by example. Gaby led the Wild to the Conference final one year. It’s a new season. Regular season doesn’t matter when the weather gets warm.

Richie, Feds, and Rupp know what it takes to win a Cup and grind through long series after series…They are expected to provide leadership as well.

Rangers have a 3 to 4 year window to win it all with Hank in his prime, IMO. This team is designed to compete for a title year after year. This is not 1994. That’s why it’s important not to blow up this team with a big trade for the sake of going for it all this year…

Doesn’t matter if you have great goaltending and defense. If you don’t have guys putting the puck in the net, you’re not going far. No shootouts in the playoffs. NYR looked lost in those two OT games against the Craps. Pretty much zero offensive pressure.

Jim, it’s not that bad, I mean, his thigh gives Richards a little bump. Are you really telling me that if the roles were reversed, Richards should be fined? Please.

Of course you need to score, but just one more than your opponent. And the Rangers are tied for the league lead in regulation/OT wins, so I don’t see shootouts being any factor in where they are in the standings.

Funny story. I missed the first period of the game yesterday because my daughter had gymnastics, so we listened to the last 5 minutes of period one in the car. When we came inside my daughter said, “Daddy, let’s go put our Rangers jerseys on.” What a great idea I thought, and even cooler that my little girl is becoming as much of a broadway blue fan as I am. So I go up and grab my heritage Staal, because it has been so lucky for me all year. My daughter says to me, as the second period has already started, “Why don’t you wear your new jersey?”, referring to my Callahan Winter Classic jersey, that I have not worn yet because it is white, and my son is a sloppy eater. So after giving it some thought, I figured, why not. As I am carrying it in to the room she says, “Daddy, maybe if you put it on, Callahan will score a goal.” I kid you not, no sooner do I slip the thing on does Cally bust out of the penalty box and score a goal. LOL. My daughter could not believe it, and now thinks that she is the reason the Rangers won yesterday. And if you are superstitious like I am, maybe she is. Gutsy win, GREAT win. Hope McD is ok. Let’s Go Rangers!

Carp, had to tell you also, my daughter refers to you as “the man with the very deep voice” when we watch the post game stuff. I had pointed out once that I kind of know the guy who is talking to Torts right now. Ever since then, you are the guy with the deep voice. Ha.

Bubba Beck,
Graves game would be perfect for todays NHL. a power forward who could not slowed in the neutral zone because of the new rules, a power forward who is not allowed to be touched in front of the net. the only thing that could possibly prevent Graves from scoring at least 40, would be the goalies oversized equipment.

I never said Graves wouldn’t have been a successful player in today’s NHL. My opinion is that he wouldn’t be as successful as a goal scorer today as he was 17 years ago with the way the game is played.

And yes, the rules are different today then they were back then. So therefore he probably wouldn’t have gotten away with this,

Carp
thanks for the review and we could use a couple more feet of snow!

ok, so I told ILB I would look at the ference hit again and I did…
I don’t think the hit was malicious and I don’t think there was an intent to injure. Ference is a hard player and IMHO not any where near the category of cooke or someone who slewfoots (paging P.K.) of a dirty player. I think he is a D man that you would want on your roster, he plays hard, stands up for teammates, can chip in offencively…

That being said, it did seem like a reckless play (I think he said that himself) with the lack of a big let up at the end when he made contact with mcdonut. I think it is a tough call to ask a guy to slow up carrying that momentum into a hit with a split second decision right at the end, if mcdonut bails (like some d men do) out right before the hit, ference checks the hell out of the boards and we don’t have this discussion.

In no way, shape, or form am I saying this is mcdonut’s fault, I just really don’t see malice in what ference did and so I say a reckless hockey play that will get a few games in suspension for ference in the NHL now.

BTW, would have been interesting to see bickel on the ice as his partner instead of stralman, I bet a serious beatdown would have occurred!

The other thing I want to ask about is Parise. He is a nice player for sure, about cally’s size (maybe a little bigger, but not much) has scored over 40 goals once (never 100 pts), seems to work hard most of the time, doesn’t play with too much of an edge, is a current devil…what is the allure?? I admit maybe I am missing something…just curious!

I really hope that we wear the winter classic jerseys again this year, or bring them back next year for some games. IMO they are the nicest winter classic jerseys since they started doing the game. I think they got it right with this one. I would have liked something like the Heritage jersey in different colors, but this was completely different and cool.

Just listened to Bobby Holik’s podcast. Was talking about the high likelihood of a lockout next year. Very depressing!

CARP:

Where do you think Parise will end up? With all the financial problems that the Devs have, can they really afford to keep him? Would the rangers cap situation this summer allow them to sign a high price free agent like Zach?

Too many variables for me to even guess, Yev. But the Rangers better be doing their diligence. I’m sure they are. They should have a good idea of if he’ll be available and what it might take to get him, and how they’ll have to finagle the roster to fit him in under the summer cap (which includes Redden).

I’ve been saying it all along, too, that there’s a very good chance of a lockout next year. I wouldn’t think it’ll be a whole-year thing again, but there is the Fehr Factor.

Warren77 – “We may not care about the Rangers anymore despite our walls being plastered with Rangers photos but we do have unlimited OJ and great WiFi. The light is kept very low for extra drama when wearing sunglasses.”

Nice story, Nasty! And yes, there will be big gathering again this year, you missed one in my upstate house last summer. Except this year I’m thinking about my NY home instead, probably would have more people. Should I clear it first with my wife, lol? Kidding, she wouldn’t mind.

On Ference hit- you may argue either way, I think the hit was outright dirty…But one thing shouldn’t be overlooked here- those types of potential head injuries are probably much easier to eliminate than, say, open ice hits, fights etc. He had enough time to hold back and he didn’t. Mutual respect should be a norm in the league, and plays like that suggest it isn’t there yet.

Love your posts, Yev…I do not think that this season is going do be judged based upon whether they win a cup. It’ll be measured based upon how much this young core learns together, including games like yesterday. And how much it learns to deal with the adversity,including a few hard losses deep in the playoffs. But I wouldn’t think for a second this team will be an easy out for anyone, low scoring notwithstanding. In fact, we will see much more games similar to the one we witnessed yesterday, rather than high scoring blow outs in the playoffs, in general.

Yev mentioned Mercs from 1994. I had a thought about Gaborik. He’s got hands, no doubt. His first goal was impressive. The puck didn’t spend more than a fraction of a second before it left the stick, Rask had no chance. Hagelin, btw, scored a very similar one earlier this season. I digress.
Gaborik signed his huge contract three years ago, and his first year he did exactly what he was payed for- score goals. Last season he was mostly hurt. This season is different. He isn’t only scoring goals, he is a Ranger. He bought into their system, he plays the way his coach wants him to, ncluding going into hard areas. He was still young when he signed, and he is growing together with the team. He wants to win it here. I don’t think he is your typical mercenary, he is more a part of the team, IMO.

This NBC game is another one that all you can root for id the ice opening up into a big sinkhole, swallowing both teams in its maw – I despise the Pens, but I’m none too fond of the Craps either, since they are our latest playoff nemesis team…

Great point about Gabby. I agree with you 100%. He is not a mercenary. He was not a washed up player coming to the rich NYR’s for a payday. He does seem like an organic piece of the team. I understand that Richards in some ways does fit the definition of a merc. But, I think that while his production numbers are off, he has been clutch. His true worth will come in April, May and god willing, JUNE!

I also agree with you that this is a young core that needs to learn. I linked to a Larry Brooks piece about this team a few days ago. I don’t often agree with Larry but he was right on target. Sometimes young teams need to be kept together and need to fail together before they can take that final step.

Look at what the Dev’s went through in 4. After tying up game 7 with 7.7 seconds left, they lost in heartbreaking fashion in double OT. They came back the next year to win the cup.

I think this organization has earned the right for us to trust in their young talent. Their have been missteps of course, but look up and down the roster. Then think about Chris Kreider, JT miller, Christian Thomas, Tim Erixon, Dylan Mcilrath, et al…..

I believe we have another 5 years of the KING in his prime. If some of that young talent in the minors lives up to its potential; this place will be a fun cyber home for the next 5 years!

It’s a mess and cleaning it up is going to be a challenge because of a lesson that every GM with money to burn eventually realizes – the free-agent premiums you pay to sign players on July 1 will come back to haunt you eventually. Strange how roles reverse. The Sabres’ New York state rivals, the Rangers, finally figured that out. They now operate the way the Detroit Red Wings do – with judicious free-agent buys (Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik) supplemented by a whole lot of homegrown talent (just about everybody else on their NHL roster). The Sabres, meanwhile, take a page out of the Rangers’ old operating manual and it blows up in their faces.

It does in fact seem like our organization has FINALLY figured things out!!

Right before the season started many of us said just that- Sabres, with all this free agent spending, reminded us of old Rangers. And I vividly remember an interesting discussion with mild-mannered, but seemingly arrogant, Buffalo Girl who was told by us just that- they will fail. I’m sure she’s visited a few times since, and if you’re still around- sorry, that wasn’t meant to be a “we told you so”, but rather from a painful experience.

Carp – I am rooting for the Bruins. They aren’t in our Division. The worst result would be OT. Just let the Bruins embarrass the Phlyers. Then the Phlyers have to know that WE beat the Bruins and they got spackled again.

Apologize here, but forgot who asked about top 3 LW’s but right now I would say ovi, sedin, and neal with lucic, franzen, benn, kovi, cole, parise, and hartnell (ewwww) being pretty high on the list (most years heatley as well)

True, fair point. But listening to Shanahan’s explanation, he talks about how the hit was textbook boarding, exactly the kind of thing they’re trying to get rid of. If you’ve got a textbook example, I don’t understand why the repercussions aren’t more severe.

As Brooks just tweeted, three games is in line with other judgements, but it doesn’t do much to deter players at all.

If this was the first suspension video you’d ever watched, you’d hear Shanahan explain why it is a textbook violation of a rule specifically amended to prevent these plays, that McDonagh was in no way culpable for the outcome and that Ference has no excuse whatsoever, yet you’d come away thinking “But that’s only worth three games?”

DSo much for the future….
But something happened the other night with NHL center ice, when they had Mike Bossy on the phone and just hearing him talk and recalling some the things he did with a puck , while he was extolling John Tavares,
brought to mind something he did while playing for the Islanders against the OLD Hartford Whalers and Greg Millen was the goal tender…..Somehow Bossy wound up with the puck along the right boards and he was right on the goal line. He skated across the rink still on the goal line, and Millen followed him…Bossy held the puck close to him and skated across Millen still on the goal line but now be He launched what looked like a back handed slap shot that went right thru Millen for the winning goal, beyond the the net – and he didn’t even seem to look back. I never forgot that goal. It was done so casually, and it went between the pipe and Millen and hit the upper corner of the goal on the right corner.Stunning example of a master of the shooting for a tiny opening.